› added 11 years ago

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TIL that Edgar Allen Poe’s death is still a mystery and that a masked man puts roses and cognac on his grave once a year!

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via reddit.com

ZppnB TIL mandated seatbelt interlock systems, requiring the driver to first be seated and then buckle up before the car was able to start, decreased seatbelt usage as drivers disabled the system in the early 70s in the US
gMRRb TIL: The rumored ancient Egyptian city of Thonis (Heracleion), said to be the most significant port in the region before Alexandria was established, had become a legend. It was lost to myth until archaeologist Franck Goddio and team happened upon its ruins --underwater, several miles off the coast.
XElGj TIL The City of Omaha Nebraska is heavily contaminated by lead, due to a factory that spewed contaminated lead into the air. The EPA found more than 40,000 contaminated sites across the city, and children have elevated blood levels of lead.
jNvRj TIL standard oranges that you buy at the supermarket are ancient hybridized fruits, crossed between pomelos and mandarins, created over 2000 years ago.
KOaBQ TIL the use of the term "starboard" to denote the right side of a ship is so-called because they were originally navigated with a steering oar on that side. “stéor bord” in Old English literally means “steering side”. When tying up, the dock always had to be positioned on the left, hence “port”.